Start the Journey to Your Own Eatery at Partake

As eager chefs come through Partake Collective’s doors to start their culinary journey, it’s easy to see what most, if not all, want to do – transition from commissary to own a restaurant of your own. 

It’s a great dream, and one that can come true.  

Starting Point

These entrepreneurs looking to carve their own path already demonstrate some innate business sense by looking to rent space in a commissary (commercial) kitchen to test their concept. With an investment as small as $30,000, they can get access to the kitchen they need, the equipment they require and the help needed to find the market fit for their masterpiece dishes. 

Make no mistake – the path from commissary kitchen to restaurant ownership is neither quick nor easy. But a staged approach dramatically reduces risk compared to attempting to open a restaurant without prior operational experience or market validation. 

The amount of capital investment required naturally increases as you climb the ladder from, say, hourly rental in a shared kitchen to a long-term (6 months or a year) lease of a private kitchen to operating a pop-up or food truck to that restaurant dream. That advancement parallels growth of any business – although few businesses offer an entry fee as low as a chef starting out in a ghost kitchen! 

Partake Collective, with locations in Long Beach and Los Angeles, helps with that entry in several ways, starting with an hourly rental as low as $25, depending on the kitchen and equipment needs. Partake team members are ready and willing to help with health inspections, necessary licenses and other paperwork, as well.

Working It

You have the concept behind a food style, specific dishes and your own recipes – why else would you go into the food business? But there is so much more to decide.  

How are you going to sell your wares? Is it delivery-only, or pickup and delivery? Do you plan to set up stands at farmer’s markets or are you going to homes for private meals, up to and including catering? Is this a retail product to sell off the shelf? 

Then there’s the workforce. Is it just you? Do you have a partner or two? Are hired hands appropriate for food prep and more? 

Do you have the money to cover the license fees, the insurance, the special equipment you might need? 

Partake team members are ready to walk beside you, with expert guidance on legal matters, insurance, design, and branding. Then you are ready to find out who likes what you cook!

Next Steps

It takes time to establish anything worthwhile. But once your product has established itself and you have a loyal customer base, it’s time to expand. 

That transition could mean a food truck, or a full-on catering business. It might mean hiring staff. 

Whatever shape your business growth takes, it more than likely will require a larger kitchen and more time spent there. Does that mean you have to relocate? 

Not at Partake. The 25,000-square-foot Long Beach facility offers nine individual kitchens ranging from 370 to 750 square feet, ten prep kitchens, hourly rental stations, and even a 700-square-foot chef’s kitchen with table seating – creating a complete infrastructure for every stage of business growth. A similar progression is at the new Los Angeles facility. 

After establishing consistent production and building a customer base, the next logical step involves creating a branded dining experience. Pop-up restaurants and ghost kitchens serve as low-risk testing grounds for menu development, service models, and market positioning. 

The Final Frontier

Get comfortable operating in this interim space, if for no other reason than you are going to have to save a sizable amount of money for any kind of storefront. Opening a traditional restaurant requires anywhere from $250,000 to $1.5 million in initial capital, along with $40,000-$150,000 in operating costs, according to recent industry benchmarks. 

In addition to your own pocket, there are several potential sources for that money. Angel investors and potential partners can come alongside. Small Business Administration loans are available if you’ve maintained strong credit and can demonstrate good business performance. 

By this time, you have to be more than an outstanding cook. You have to be a knowledgeable businessperson as well. 

Chefs must understand their food cost percentages (target: 28-35%), labor cost ratios (target: 25-35%), prime cost (food + labor, target: under 65%), and break-even points. These metrics inform pricing decisions, menu engineering, and operational efficiency improvements. 

Nothing to it, right? 

Dreams Come True

Every journey begins with the first step. It makes sense that the first step be a thoughtful, cautious one. 

Our purpose here at Partake Collective is to help you take that first step in a way to maximize your chances of success. We love to share in our tenants’ historias de éxito, and we are ready to share in yours. 

Doing research always helps, and tours of both Partake locations are available. Partake Long Beach is at 456 Elm Ave. Partake Los Angeles (Glassell Park) is at 3716 Eagle Rock Blvd. To book a tour, go to partakecollective.com/book-a-tour. 

© Partake Collective 2025